


Between One Heartbeat and the Last

by PonderingTheUniverse17



Series: Love and Space Dust [11]
Category: Doctor Who, Doctor Who (2005)
Genre: Episode: s09e12 Hell Bent, F/M, Heavy Angst
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-11-06
Updated: 2017-11-06
Packaged: 2019-01-30 02:39:03
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 538
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/12644448
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/PonderingTheUniverse17/pseuds/PonderingTheUniverse17
Summary: Set during "Hell Bent." After the Doctor's mind wipe, Clara is left alone with him in the TARDIS.





	Between One Heartbeat and the Last

_People like me and you, we should say things to one another._

He had said once that she’d never leave his head, to trust that she never would. That trust had been broken. Despite the tight grip that she held on him, he was slipping away. It was a struggle to breathe, the pain within her soundless chest spreading about her body. It wasn’t fair, she thought, to feel so alive in the state she was in.

But she couldn’t, never for him.

Breathing. Durable.

Mended.

“D-Doctor,” she said in a whisper.

She shifted closer to him, never letting go of his hand still in hers. His body trembled slightly beside her.

She longed for his lips to brush her skin. For his curls to graze against her neck. She softly rested her head on his chest. It was warm, his hearts gently beating against her. She could feel them, their thumps of warmth and endurance echoing within her hollow frame. It was no longer silent when they touched. His hearts were hers.   

Just like their daughter.

Resilient.

Vibrant.

Living.

_Why can’t I be like you?_

A stillness washed over him as she snuggled deeper into his chest. She found it easy to be tender, her finger tracing his hand steadily as she placed it against her own chest. No longer would he keep the writhing pains of her burning in his hand. She soothed him, letting the pain lash out across her body. She couldn’t hold back the piercing sob that escaped her.

She could breathe.

_Don’t do it now._

“I-“

_We’ve already had enough bad timing._

He already knew.

_“Why are they hard to say? Because it’ll make it real?”_ she had once asked him.

_“No, because once you say it, you lose them.”_ he replied.

She had to say it lose him.

Those three impossible words to her impossible Doctor.

Husband.

Friend.

Companion.

Doctor.

 “How did you deal with the fear?” she asked. “When we found out?”

Silence.

_“I’m pregnant,” she said. Her voice was soft, barely a whisper. “Doctor.” Her eyes were wide, watering as she searched his face for a reaction. He finally looked at her, his face breaking into a smile. Relief spread across her body, yet an uneasiness was left in her gut. She looked down as she closed her eyes. He had placed a hand on her abdomen. “A girl.”_

_“What?”_

_“I can feel that it’s a girl.”_

_She felt him shaking as he lowered himself to kiss her stomach._

_“She’ll look just like her mother.”_

_“And an angel like her father.”_

She had lost track of time until she heard the hum of the TARDIS. Time mattered. Now more than ever.

She could still feel.

She was utterly alive.

She raised herself up from his chest as carefully as she could. Out of habit, she caressed his cheek. She didn’t want to leave him, but she had no other choice.

“I have to go Doctor,” she said. Her legs slightly wobbled as she stood up from the floor. “I know that you won’t remember, but remember this.”

_Yes, Boss._ she could hear him say.

“I love you, between one heartbeat and the last.”

_Between one heartbeat and the last._

**Author's Note:**

> Hello everyone! I sincerely apologize for taking so long to update this series. I have had massive writers block this past year and felt like I would never be able to overcome it. I cannot thank you all enough for continuing to read this and give me feedback after all of this time.


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